


and here you are living, despite it all

by Jam



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Marriage Proposal, rip yeehaw kogane
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-26
Updated: 2018-06-26
Packaged: 2019-05-28 19:30:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15056174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jam/pseuds/Jam
Summary: "Our first date is to a graveyard."(Keith and Shiro make an important visit)





	and here you are living, despite it all

"Our first date is to a graveyard,"  Keith says, matter of fact. 

Shiro winces at that, a little, but smiles helplessly.  He's dressing himself in Keith's dad's old clothes- a pair of worn, dusty jeans and a t-shirt. They're due to leave Keith's shack in half an hour and he doesn't have time to pick up his old civilian clothes from the Garrison.

"I guess so," Shiro says, pulling a shirt over his head. It's black and smells of must and moth balls. He wouldn't have it any other way. 

"If you don't count getting stranded on a deserted planet while I bled out from an alien wound."

Keith smiles at that, but he's guarded- more so than usual. Shiro has a feeling this "date" is going to be less romantic than dinner.

The bus trip is short and bittersweet. Shiro watches semi-arid plains give way to steeper ground and twisting rock formations. Coming back to Earth still feels unreal. He feels unsettled, apprehensive, like the jaws of the Galra Empire were just waiting to swallow him up again. 

"First time I've taken a bus in ages," Shiro says. "Guess I can't drive now, huh." 

It was meant to be a lighthearted comment, but Keith looks at him, expression unreadable.

They arrive at their destination- a small town about an hour out from the Garrison. The shopfronts are ornate and antique- like something out of a western movie. Keith explains bits and pieces of it: the fire station where his dad used to work, the park he used to practice throwing his knife in. Much of it, he doesn't remember. Most of it leaves him silent and closed-off. 

The cemetery is a short walk out of town. The dry ground and eucalypts are sunlit and strangely beautiful. The midday silence surrounding the place is so peaceful that Shiro almost feels guilty for the sound of their footsteps crunching over the gravel path. 

Keith pushes the low, rusted gate open. Then they're in, and he suddenly looks like he wants to run away. 

"It's okay. If you need to, we can go back any time," Shiro reassures him. 

Keith shakes his head.

"I'm fine," he says, and he means it- the tilt to his gaze is different when he's brushing someone off. 

"I still miss him, but I..." Keith furrows his brows. "I'm done with acting out. And I'm done with running away." 

They continue down the path. Shiro had forgotten how overwhelming graveyards were. They remind him of what the wars he fought really looked like- what peace looked like, after its cost was paid.

"Where did your dad's old crew say it was?" he asks, as they reach the far corner of the cemetery.

"Should be around here somewhere," Keith says, combing through some weeds and tall grass. After a minute, his hand comes to rest on something. 

The stone is slightly weathered- it's been about a decade, after all. Weeds have gleefully taken root in and around it. Shiro almost feels bad for them as Keith tears them out with little finesse. 

Keith bends down in front of the headstone, reaches out to trace its edges, and Shiro's heart is breaking already. Keith takes a shuddering breath.

"Hey, Dad. It's been a while. I'm sorry, I just... I've had a lot on my mind." 

Keith drops his head to his knees and sighs.  Shiro knows how difficult this is for him- Keith's policy of subtly pushing people away seems to apply to the living and the dead. He puts his hand on Keith's back.

"This is Shiro," Keith says, looking over his shoulder at Shiro. "He took care of me after you left. He's... he's the best person in my life." 

Shiro smiles at that. He could say the same for Keith. 

"Uh... what else should I say? I'm a paladin of Voltron now. And I, um, I met Kr- Mom. She's awesome. I wish you were here to see her too." 

His shoulders shake a little. Shiro puts a hand on one to anchor him. 

"You okay?"

"Yeah," Keith murmurs, standing and wiping at his eyes. "I just need a second. I'm gonna take a walk." 

Shiro knows Keith prefers to have time alone when he's upset. Sometimes- very rarely- he'll cry in front of Shiro; let him see the full breadth of his emotion. Today is not one of those days. 

"Okay. I'll be here when you get back," Shiro replies, and Keith walks off down the rows of headstones.  

Shiro watches him go. It's hard to keep track of his thoughts when the sunlight hits Keith's hair just right. 

He waits until Keith's out of earshot, then kneels down on the flattened weeds in front of the headstone. 

"Hi, Keith's dad. Uh... Thanks for the clothes."

He takes a deep breath. The strange, sentimental feeling of talking to a grave aside- he feels his stomach flutter with nerves, as if he was actually meeting Keith's father. 

"Look... I know I'm not much. Your son has saved my life so many times, I-" 

He cuts himself off before he self deprecates too much. This is about Keith, he reminds himself. This is about how much he cares for Keith. 

"But please," he begins again, "Let me take care of your son. I want to spend the rest of my life with him. I'm going to promise that to him soon- and whether he accepts or not, I swear, I'll protect him with everything I have left." 

Shiro hears the snap of stems breaking, and he turns to find Keith, his eyes puffy and red-rimmed. 

"K-Keith," he stammers. "I was going to ask at a better time-" 

"Okay."

"What?" 

"I said, okay," Keith repeats. "I'll marry you."

"We don't have to commit to anything right now." Shiro rushes to cover his mistake.  "You won't lose me."

"Shiro, I trust you," Keith says, and that phrase alone is enough to wipe away all of Shiro's worries. "I'm sure... I'm sure he would too." 

"So that's..." 

"A yes," Keith supplies. "Unless you have any other suggestions as to who I should be with." 

Shiro is about to break into the biggest grin of his life, but Keith's face falls. He reaches for Keith's shoulder again, reassuring. 

"I just wish he was here to meet you," Keith says, coming apart at the seams, and Shiro gently pulls him into a hug. He wraps his arm around the small of Keith's back, running his hand up and down. 

 

They spend the rest of the visit weeding and cleaning up around the grave. It isn't very romantic in itself, but Shiro's heart is full. As they leave, Keith rests a framed picture of him and Krolia against the headstone. Krolia looks awkward, like she doesn't know how to smile for the camera, and Shiro smiles. 

"Love you, Dad," Keith says to the headstone. "I'm sorry for being such a lousy kid. I promise I'll come visit more."

"Hey," Shiro says. "He'd be proud of you. _I'm_ proud of you." 

Keith smiles and take's Shiro's hand. They walk back along the gravel path, entangling their fingers. 

"I can't believe I proposed on the first date, Shiro chuckles. 

"It's okay," Keith says, squeezing his hand. "We always do things out of order." 

At the gate, Shiro turns to look over his shoulder. And if he sees a figure in a firefighter's jacket standing over the grave, glimmering with bright quintessence-  well, that's just a trick of the light.

**Author's Note:**

> the title is from rupi kaur's "the sun and her flowers"! her poetry is amazing, go get one of her books if you haven't already :) 
> 
> as always, come talk angst with me at cosmikkeith.tumblr.com


End file.
